The TSU Board of Regents Friday announced that they have selected John Rudley to be the new president of the university. Rudley is currently the interim president of the University of Houston.

Technically, the board’s 9-0 vote named Rudley the sole finalist for the job. The board has to wait 21-days before officially offering him the job.

He takes over a university that has been wrought with challenges and scandal the past two years.

The university has been without a permanent president since the board fired Priscilla Slade in the wake of a spending scandal in which the former president allegedly misspent university funds on personal purchases, such as the remodeling of her home.

A hung jury in October would not convict Slade on charges related to her use of school money for personal expenses. The university’s former financial officer, however, was found guilty for his role in the scandal and is serving a 10-year prison sentence.

Rudley was one of two men to be interviewed by the regents Friday afternoon. The other was TSU alum, former state representative and Houston city councilman Anthony Hall.

Rudley is known as a straightforward leader who is a stickler for balanced budgets. He has built a career on keeping finances in order and seeing that construction projects remain on time.

"This is a critical time for the University, as its success is vital to our city and state," Rudley said in a statement. "I pledge to the students, faculty, staff and alumni that I will work proficiently and tirelessly to advance the important mission of Texas Southern University. " 

He is finishing up a seven-month run as the interim president of the University of Houston. Renu Khator takes the reigns at U of H next week.

Rudley received his bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Toledo and master's and doctoral degrees from Tennessee State University. His wife is a professor at TSU’s Thurgood Marshall School of Law.

Rudley takes over a university that is facing declining enrollment, low graduation rates, academic probation by its accreditation body and an athletic program that has been placed on probation by the NCAA. The state legislature is also withholding about $40 million in funding until the university proves it can right its financial ship.